Sunako pulled the wide-brimmed black hat lower on her head. She pushed her huge black sunglasses farther up her nose. If it had not been so hot, she'd have pulled a jacket around herself even tighter. Instead, she shoved her hands in her pockets, slouched her shoulders deeply, and shuffled toward the shadow of a nearby building.
"OY." She jumped with a start at the loud, irritated voice. "Where do you think you're going? That's not your damn house. Keep away from it."
"I bet they think she's a witch or an evil spirit," a softer voice murmured.
Sunako refused to look up at the voices. Instead, she crouched in the shade so that the minimal two PM shadow covered her.
"Only because she insisted on wearing entirely black. What kind of person goes to Mexico in the middle of summer and wears all black?" This voice was lower and smoother, disdain clearly written into it. Sunako spotted a corner with even more shade and scuttled into it.
"You know exactly what kind," a bored, weary voice answered. "Don't be ridiculous. Would you expect Sunako to wear anything other than what she always wears? I'm amazed we got her out of that wool winter coat she wore to the airport."
Kyohei stood to the left, arms crossed, sulkily. His reddish hair had gone limp in the hot sun, but unfortunately, did little to diminish his good looks. Takenaga stood a few feet from him, fanning himself lightly with an accordioned map. His perpetually jaded expression remained on his face, but a connoisseur (or so Noi called herself) could catch the intrigued spark in his eye, excited to be in such an alien place. Yuki stood slightly behind both of them, nervous eyes darting around the village they stood in, taking in every angle. His small earring was the only hint that he was so on edge, trembling almost imperceptibly. Ranmaru's face was tilted up to the sun, trying to show off his best angle in the harsh sunlight as well as soak up a few of the harmful UV rays that promised to give him a golden vacation glow.
"Always talking like I can't hear you," Sunako hissed at them. She bared her teeth at them and curled her fingers, sallow eyes peering up at them through dark glasses.
The four owners of the voices shivered and made whimpering noises.
"Scaaaaaryyyyyyy," they wailed all at once.
"What's scary?" a new voice asked. It came from behind the large tourist bus the five teens had just stepped off.
A Mexican man walked around and grinned at them. "Hola! Welcome to Calaveras. You must be the Nakahara group."
"That's us," Ranmaru agreed, bowing.
"Why is your friend hissing in the shade?" the man asked, tilting his head. "Is she retarded?"
"Uh…" All four boys tilted their head in deep thought.
"Yes," Kyohei volunteered.
"Shut up," Takenaga said, smacking him. "She just… likes the dark."
"Ah," the man said sympathetically. "An albino. HELLO MISS." His voices was suddenly loud, his words slow and metered. "I HOPE YOUR TRIP WAS GOOD, SI?"
Sunako stared at him. "Is this guy retarded?" she asked, turning to the boys.
The man let out a loud, jolly laugh. "No, I am not Retarded! I am Ricardo! I like your joke. Was your trip enjoyable?"
There was a brief pause as the group remembered the harrowing bus trip. Ranmaru had wept. Takenaga had found religion. Kyohei had experienced vivid hallucinations of his life. Yuki had needed to change his pants at one point. Sunako had sat serenely, smiling and shuffling a tarot deck absently.
"Yeah, it was great," Takenaga replied, less than enthusiastically. The boys all smiled a little too widely at the man, white teeth glittering in the sunlight. Sunako let out a small miserable moan and blood began to trickle from her nose.
"Ah yes. One of Calaveras' many charming features is the road by which it can only be accessed! Called El Camino de los Muertos by the natives! Legendary for its needlessly sharp turns on ridiculously narrow roads over perilously tall cliffs! Also, try the donut shop next to the hotel, they are delicious." Ricardo stuck his head inside the bus to speak to the driver, gasped and yanked his head back out of the bus and shook his head. "Another one bites the dust."
"Another one rides the bus, more like," Kyohei muttered. "Bus of death."
A window on the house suddenly opened and a small woman peered out. She looked at the handsome boys delightedly and grinned broadly, revealing a few missing teeth. "Bueno!" she greeted them with a wink. A low growling, hissing noise caught her attention and she looked down to see, almost inches from her, Sunako crouching and twitching.
"Briiight…. Creeeeatures…" she gurgled, running her fingers down her face. They caught in the nasal blood that had gathered on her lips and began to smear the red stuff all over her cheeks.
"Your friend," the woman called, looking back up at the boys. "She is retarded?"
"No, Josephina," Ricardo called back. "She is an albino!"
She made a sympathetic clucking noise and shook her had. "Sad!" She looked back down at Sunako. "RETARDED GIRL! I MAKE YOU TORTILLA SOUP! IT WILL FIX YOUR ALBEENO!"
"She's not deaf," Yuki mumbled, and Kyohei snickered.
Sunako stood up. "What is it with you people?" she snapped.
Ricardo and Josephina laughed so raucously that the boys had to hide smiles.
"Come, I will show you your hotel," Ricardo said, still chuckling, waving them toward the center of town. "Tonight, you eat in the hotel, and tomorrow I show you the town!"